Estate Planning

The firm has a large estate-planning practice group that assists high net-worth individuals and families in connection with matters of estate and wealth transfer planning, family business and financial issues, and succession planning. When appropriate, this group accomplishes our clients' objectives with complex and creative techniques.

In connection with the firm’s estate-planning practice, members of the firm’s estate-planning group regularly assist clients in the administration of lifetime trusts, as well as the administration of trusts and estates in post-death matters. The firm has broad experience in disputed probate proceedings, will contests and trust litigation.

The firm engages in extensive and ongoing asset protection, counseling and strategies for existing high net-worth clients and others. These services are often performed in connection with other estate-planning services for a client. The firm will gather facts and analyze each client’s situation in order to determine the most appropriate and effective strategy, then take steps to help the client implement that strategy.

The firm’s trust and estate litigation practice group specializes in the growing and often complex field of probate, trust and estate controversies and litigation. We represent trustees, guardians, personal representatives, beneficiaries, heirs, creditors and other interested parties in a wide variety of disputes regarding trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, trust and will contests, trust constructions, and claims against probate estates. Whether the controversies involve trustees, personal representatives, beneficiaries, professional advisors, federal or state regulatory agencies, family members or others, our attorneys are experienced in protecting our clients’ interests before the applicable forums.

Our trust and estate attorneys work to understand clients’ family dynamics, values and financial circumstances, then help those clients achieve their wealth transfer and estate-planning goals. We have extensive experience in designing and implementing lifetime wealth transfer programs, including structures for making gifts, generation-skipping trusts (GST or dynasty trusts), irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs) and other residence trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), grantor retained income trusts (GRITs), domestic asset protection trusts, family limited partnerships (FLPs), family limited-liability companies (LLCs), and intrafamily sales. We also advise on gift and estate tax, generation-skipping transfer tax and income tax issues, as well as represent our clients in tax audits and litigation. In certain instances, we may apply for a private letter ruling from the IRS on our client’s behalf to achieve certainty of the tax consequences of a particular transaction.

We also help our clients plan for the possibility of their disability through trusts, powers of attorney for property, powers of attorney for health care, advanced directives for health care and related health authorizations. We assist our clients in planning for wealth transfers through wills and trusts, taking into account not only the tax issues, but also the client’s non-tax objectives in providing for family members in different generations. We advise our clients on how to title their assets to best achieve their objectives and maximize income tax basis, as well as on probate avoidance and beneficiary designations. We design estate plans that address the differences between the federal estate tax rates and exclusions and the death tax laws of various states. Our counsel also ensures the preparation of the liquidity necessary to pay estate taxes and ensure the financial security of the surviving family members, including life insurance structures. We advise our clients on various trustee, investment adviser and family adviser structures to ensure the best-qualified individuals are assigned the various roles involved in trust administration.